


Magic Box

by Newtexe (ArcMages)



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, This is during season 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 15:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18252323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcMages/pseuds/Newtexe
Summary: In which Eleven is in possession of a mysterious box that grants magic. On the run from the laboratory, she meets four boys who volunteer themselves on a mission to protect their mage and fight evil.





	Magic Box

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Stranger Things fic. Let's celebrate the upcoming of season 3!  
> I hope you guys enjoy!

Bare, bruised feet scampered through the tall grass, rustling filled in the deaf of the night. A young girl dashed as fast as her small legs can carry her. Panting, her lungs burn with fire. Sweat rolled down the side of her face, her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. With her hands at her chest, she clutched onto a mini, perfectly square box. It radiated in a luminescent blue, but her fingers spread out along it, blocking the light from spilling out into the dark. Before her, a gate of haunting trees reached out with their bare branches to pull her in. Without any question, she shot past the gate and into the woods. The moonlight jumped out of sight as she’s faced with a labyrinth of wooden columns. The box in her hands glowed stronger in the abyss, she attempted to cover for it by cradling it in a loose patch of her shirt. She leapt over fallen branches and logs, twigs scratch at her bare skin. They teared at her loose clothes which, at this point, were just rags of cloth still hanging together by a few strings.

She had no idea where she was going, where her feet were taking her. She had never been in this terrain before… at least, not in real life. And now that she was actually here instead of a mere replication in her own mind, it felt far more menacing. That something,  _someone_ , could grab at her from behind a tree or even in the net the trees provided from above. The chilly air brushed against her skin as she ran and ran and ran to what seemed like nowhere. But she couldn’t stop, no matter how much she wanted to. Her feet refused to break, her heart screamed in fright and rage.

Something prickly from the ground scratched at her as she let out a yelp and fell face first into the dead leaves. Her hands were crushed underneath her lightweight, the edges of the box nudged into her chest. She wanted to stay in this position, her limbs begged for her to take a rest. Her breaths whistled as she wheezed to refill her lungs with air. But she didn’t stop. She forced herself up, her own weight pressured her legs to hold up. They shook uncontrollably, about to give up on themselves. Her hold on the box tightened, the glowing blue warmed on her chest. She felt a rush of adrenaline pulsate through her, suddenly her legs felt competent once again. While the scratches didn’t stop bleeding, energy was granted to her. Temporarily.

A shout pierced through the chirping of crickets. She whipped her head back to see the sparse glowing of orange lanterns hanging in the darkness. While they were small, which meant they could’ve been farther off than she had expected, hopefully not even in the woods just yet. But the fact that she could still see their lights left her unsettled. Her scent could be being traced by dogs. Then in that case, she would have to distance herself further from them. And without another thought, she shot herself deeper into the unknown woods in hopes of finding civilization nearby.

 

* * *

 

“I’d say now’s the time we go out and capture some supernatural creatures!” A curly-haired, somewhat pudgy male announced between the gaps of his fallen teeth. He threw his hands in the air enthusiastically. He had on a red video game-related shirt, baggy jeans barely holding up, and an unnecessary red cap flattening his curls which made them stick out more on the sides of his head.

“It’s dangerous,” a dark-skinned male said in counter, he had a thin frame and a striped shirt on with shorts of the same blue shade. In his hand, he had a sheet of lined paper with messy writing scattered about on it. “So we have to make sure everybody here knows the plan of action for every single situation.”

And boy, that list was long. This included in case if someone were to: have their walkie-talkie die on them, get separated (and face a creature alone/have to go to the bathroom/come across a questioning commoner), get lost (in the nearby woods, in Hawkins, in a house, on a street), and so on. It was a very exquisite plan they had all come up with together. One that they thought was quite impeccable. They had memorized the whole thing and went over it at least once a week during a gathering. Never would they ever have to find themselves in a situation where they didn’t know what to do… again.

“Will? Are you in shape for the hunt? If not, you can always guard the base,” a black hair male said, he had a high-bridged nose and wore a casual mustard yellow shirt with (actually fitting) jeans. He stood at the wooden table set in the middle of the basement room. On it, was a board game with scattered game pieces. Next to him on the table sat four walkie-talkies which all had tape wrapped around on the sides with markings on them.

Will, who had been out sick for the past couple of weeks gave him a nod. He wore a simple, loose gray long-sleeved shirt with long pants to prevent himself from being too exposed in the autumn weather of Hawkins. “I’m good, don’t worry, Mike.” After all, no one wanted to stay behind and guard the base. And in truth, he did feel a lot better compared to the last weeks. Though he could only hope the chilly night wouldn’t worsen his condition. Then he would have to skip even more school and worry his mother at the same time.

They all gave each other a single nod before grabbing their walkie-talkies off from the table and snuck out of the house through the basement door, which was located at the back of the house and led to the barren backyard. From there, they (not-so)-quietly made their way to the front where they ran down the street and out of sight from the house. The chirping of crickets filled the night and the occasional car that would pass by off in the distance. Their shoes tapped on the road as they ran, they then came to a stop at an intersection. On the street that was intersecting, there was only one side of houses, the other side had the woods. While they liked to fulfill their missions near the woods where the monsters hid, they hardly ever went inside. They gathered together and turned on their walkie-talkies.

“We have twenty minutes each to check the area,” the dark-skinned male said. His tone was serious and meant only business. “Make to return exactly on time or earlier!”

“We know the drill by now, Lucas,” said Mike. He then gestured at Will. “You’re coming with me.”

“Got it,” Will nodded.

“Alright, guess that means I’m going with Dustin,” said Lucas.

“Fine, just don’t always be checking your tail,” Dustin replied in some sort of mutter. And that was what happened when these two were put together. Their personalities clashed. But that didn’t mean they didn't make a superior team.

And with that, the two duos parted from each other in opposite directions. Will turned his head as he watched Dustin dart off into the darkness and Lucas chasing after him. By his side, Mike looked down at the smaller boy and asked: “So, how did you convince your mother that you’re perfectly fine to go out tonight?”

Will was thrown off at the question, he looked back at his friend with widened eyes. “Wait— is it obvious that I’m still sick?”

“What?” Mike responded, furrowing his brows a bit. “I had no idea you were sick!”

Busted. “Oh, is that so,” Will said with a nervous laughter. He then let out a slight “whoops” under his breath.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others,” Mike said with a grin. They might overreact when hearing that a contagious cold was being brought in to infect the team. “But if you’re ever feeling… y’know, weak. Then let me know.” Weak was the wrong word but what else could he say? Sick?

“I feel perfectly fine,” Will lied… somewhat. He was feeling fine at the moment but when the medicine wears off, he wouldn’t anymore. For now, his temperature was normal but he still felt a bit woozy in the head. Not that it mattered.

They continued walking along the sidewalk for a couple more minutes in the silence. Soon enough, they reached the part of the road where the line of houses came to an end and the path would just lead to Hawkins after a tunnel of the surrounding woods. The road before them was barren of any life or cars. Just street lamps that spilled pools of dusty, golden light.

"We should turn back and maybe take a turn at the last intersection," suggested Mike. Even though that would only lead them to a series of more and more houses— which was no fun. But their objective wasn't to head to Hawkins, it was to check the neighborhood of strange activity (preferably monsters). Heck, they didn't even know why they had went on this way when they were well familiar with the whole neighborhood after playing around in it since they were _young_  children.

Going hunting near his house wasn't exactly the best place to target but unfortunately, that's where their base was located. And having a base close by to retreat to always came in handy. In truth, better places to go on their expeditions would be outside of Hawkins and it's suburbs and in the woods along the abandoned railroad or in the junkyard. But they wouldn't dare to go out that far at night. 

But Will didn't respond. He only stared before him at the road. His eyes squinted and his lips parted as he focused on a dark, moving figure near the road, emerging from the trees. A dim blue glow traveled along in front of it, it might've been holding the glow. But he couldn't make it out.

"What?" Mike asked, he looked at Will first, then shifted his gaze to the road. "Do you see something?"

Will stood in his place, his shoes pressed against the hard road. He watched as the figure lifted it's head. The bushes rustled as it stepped out and onto the shade of the road.

This time, Mike noticed. His fingers tapped the walkie-talkie at his side, ready to call a code red in case if they really had come across something. The figure took it's time as it stepped out close enough to the circle of light. Along the way, it wobbled a bit, then stumbled and collapsed to the ground. They then could make out it was a person.

"We have to help them!" Will said as he ran forward on the side of the street impulsively. Mike followed after him, his heart thumped in his chest rapidly.

As they approached closer towards the person, they could make out it was a girl who was likely around their age. Her breaths were unsteady, seeming to try to pull in as much air as possible. He kneeled down in front of her and immediately noticed a small glowing box that had slipped from her hands. The source of the blue light was simply just a cube. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, realizing that her clothes were all torn and in horrible condition. Small cuts and multiple bruises were scattered across her body from head to toe. She had no shoes.

"Are you okay?!" he almost shouted. It was then he realized he might've been on the verge of panicking.

"She's all beat up..." Mike pointed out. His eye's focused on her, examining that she was of no danger to them. He had to wonder how this girl came to arrive here and why she was in such condition. She appeared awfully worn out, like she had just ran a marathon to get here. His eyes then went to the blue box. It was glowing calmingly, occasionally slightly flickering as if a candle was lit inside. He picked it up gently, immediately feeling it's warmth spread onto his cold hand. "What is this?"

"I don't know," Will replied questioningly. He didn't know what to do, who this girl was, what the hell they had just come across.

A manly shout could be heard in the distance. The two shot their glances at the woods were they noticed tiny orange lights moving about in the darkness. They looked like fireflies, but they weren't. It was then they both knew what was going on.

The girl was being chased. And the only people who could help her were them. A silent compromise was made between the two, they knew what to do.

"Mike," Will said in a serious tone. "Carry her on your back, you're stronger than me." He snatched the blue box into his own grasp, noticing it's radiating warmth.

"Okay, okay, but you have to help me," Mike said as he squatted down and put his hands at his sides.

Will, with the most of his weak strength, pulled the girl up from her limp position and (sort of) tossed her onto Mike's back. He adjusted her legs into Mike's hands and rested her head against his shoulder. As Mike slowly brought himself up, Will kept a hand on the girl's back to make sure she wouldn't fall off. 

Then, they ran out from the street and back into the neighborhood, heading back to the meeting spot. Will grabbed his walkie-talkie and turned it on. "Code red!" he shouted into it. "Code red! Do you copy? Over."

A buzz was heard on the other side. Lucas' voice sounded in reply. "This is Lucas here. Copy! State your scenario. Over." In the back, Dustin's "oh god!" was caught.

Will matched his running pace with Mike's, who was heaving for air whilst holding a girl on his back, making sure not to leave his side. "We found a girl! A girl I say! She's in bad shape and we need to bring her back to the base! Over." His eyes shifted over to to the girl, she was unconscious but still breathing. He kept his free hand on her back to keep her posture up.

"A GIRL?!" Dustin's voice screeched through the speaker.

"Dustin, shut up!" Lucas shouted back. He then said to the walkie-talkie in a more composed tone, "Copy. We'll meet you back there. Over."

The walkie-talkie then went silent, Lucas must've switched his off. Will could just imagine the sort of chaotic conversation Lucas and Dustin must've been having right now. "Mike, did you catch all of that?"

Mike took in a few breaths before he answered, "Yeah." Drops of sweat ran down his temples, but he was still holding up fine. Just loosing more and more energy with every set. He felt the girl slipping from his hold, his hands wanted to give up. It wasn't that she was heavy. But he certainly wasn't strong. Just stronger than the weakest of the group who ran beside him.

He wondered how the girl would react to be surrounded by four boys in an unfamiliar house. He wondered if she had committed some serious crime and perhaps he could've been bringing some sort of serial killer into his house. But the thing was... it was a girl. And she was injured badly. What other sort of choice did they have? It was the right thing to do. Tonight, they would be the heroes.

And god, he hoped that his parents hadn't noticed his absence from the house. Well, most likely they wouldn't. They barely ever kept track of his existence. And Nancy... well she was likely also out with her  _boyfriend_  Steve. Let's just say his family was more... lenient. 

 

By the time the two arrived in front of the house, Dustin and Lucas were already waiting on the side, away from the windows and against the wall. Dustin's jaw dropped as his eyes set on Mike and the girl on his back. He was just about to let out some sort of scream of shock but luckily, Lucas slammed a hand on Dustin's mouth.

Will put a finger to his lips and they all crept their way to the back of the house where they entered in through the backdoor. Upon arriving in the basement, Mike set the girl on the floor in a gentle manner and let out a groan as he sat down next to her and stretched his arms and back. "Who knew carrying a girl could be so much work!"

Lucas sped his hands through the pages of their plan-of-action notebook while Dustin and Will gathered bandages and disinfection off from the side. Will, being the cleric, got to work right away as he unwrapped cotton balls and messily poured the disinfectant liquid on it. His hands shook as he brought it to the girl's exposed leg, hovering over it.

"Will, what are you waiting for? Apply the antidote! She's going to bleed to death!" Dustin's voice was high.

"I — I don't know!" Will stammered. In truth, he was no healer. He barely knew any medical. The most he could do was apply disinfectant, pressure to stop bleeding, and put on a bandage. If any of them were to be inflicted with... perhaps a broken arm— he would have no faith in himself as a cleric.

The girl let out a slight moan from her lips as she woke. Her eyes slowly blinked open as she brought a hand against the floor, trying to push herself up.

They all froze, unsure of what to do. So they just watched her intently.

She rolled onto her side, wincing a bit in pain as she pulled her injured legs close in. Her doe brown eyes slid over the four boys. And with sudden movement, she pushed herself back against the wall with her eyes widened. They ran around the room, back and forth frantically, taking in the setting— which was just nerd crap all over the walls.

"Woah woah woah!" Dustin said. He held his hands out in front of him as if that would calm her. "Easy, easy there."

Lucas slammed the notebook closed in frustration. "There's nothing in here for what to do when we encounter an unfamiliar, injured girl!"

"Hey," Mike said to her, keeping his distance. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you."

"Y — yeah," Will agreed. "Mike was the one who carried you back here." He wanted to add that they might've saved her.

The girl stared at each them, unsure of who to focus on. Her lips were parted, she seemed to be nervous. Well, who wouldn't. But she didn't say a single thing. And the silence made it sort of awkward to the boys. They would expect a girl to at least have something to say, at least maybe what had happened to her. Instead, all she did was breathe.

Will inched himself a bit closer to her, he still held the soaked cotton ball in his hand. "We have an antidote— I mean, disinfectant. You need to tend to your wounds," he said.

The girl still didn't reply. She just looked at him with her head cocked. 

"Look, you can do it yourself then," he then slid the bottle of disinfectant and bag of cotton balls towards her.

She didn't take it. She more looked at it in question.

"Do you know what disinfectant is?" Mike asked. He demonstrated by grabbing a cotton ball and pouring a bit of the liquid on, then slid it gently across his own skin. The only difference was, he didn't have an injuries. "Except... it might sting a bit but it'll keep you clean."

The girl copied him and applied it onto a scratch on her arm. She winced, biting her lip, but it seemed she got the idea. The four boys gathered at the table where the board game was laid out and pieces were still scattered about messily. Lucas started the conversation with: "So what happened, exactly?"

Mike let out a sigh. "It's sort of a long story. But not really." He then told the story of the figure from the trees that Will spotted first on the road that led to Hawkins, then finding out it was a girl who had all of these injuries on her.

"Oh!" Will butted in. He placed the glowing cube on the table. "We found this with her. Do any of you have an idea of what it could be?"

"Yeah, then we saw in the woods that people might've been chasing after her," Mike said, his tone was concerned. "They had lights... and there were a lot of them."

Dustin grabbed the cube and examined it, closing one eye as he did. "Hmm... It contains some strange energy," he said with a horrible scientific matter-of-fact voice.

"Well duh," said Lucas. He then faced Mike. "Are you saying she was being chased?"

In a instant, the cube was gone. The girl stood off to the side, with it in her hands. She had taken it back in a flash, inhumanly. They figured she was just fast on her feet. 

"Is that yours? What even is it?" Mike asked.

The girl narrowed her brows. "Don't touch," she muttered as she gripped it tightly to her chest.

"It's okay, we won't. Right guys?" Will looked at all of them who nodded in agreement.

The girl kept an eye on them as she brought herself back to the wall where she placed the cube on her lap and continued on with applying the disinfectant.

"She's strange," Dustin whispered to them. But it was barely a whisper. This guy didn't have the capacity to do such a thing with his voice.

Mike rose up from the table and opened a drawer off to the side where he pulled out a spare change of clothes they kept in the base. Specifically, his own. He laid it down next to her. "When you're done you can change into these... in the bathroom." He then pointed at the door off to the side.

She only looked at him instead of saying anything so he went back to his seat where they all looked at each other and shrugged. Tonight, would be a long, confusing night for them.

No, it already was. But hey, stranger things aren't always so bad.


End file.
